Mounting techniques for body panels for use in motor vehicles are generally well-known in the art. Traditionally, such mounting techniques include threaded fasteners arranged about the periphery of the body panel that are used to fasten the body panel to the structural frame members of the motor vehicle, which traditionally were formed from stamped and welded metal components.
Recently, hydro formed metal frame structures have become more commonly used for forming such structural frame members, particularly in the front of the motor vehicle and around the engine of the motor vehicle. Hydro forming, as is known, employs a fluid to exert pressure against a metal work piece, such a sheet or tube, within a die to shape the metal work piece into a finished and desired shape. However, hydro formed tubes require relatively large bend radii in comparison with other forming techniques, such as stamping. Thus, in some applications, hydro formed tubes used as front frame structures are inappropriate for providing an attachment location for body panels, particularly for the motor vehicle front fender, since the fender must have an attachment near the front vehicle nose to provide adequate stiffness at the tip of the fender and dimensional capability to fit properly with the nose of the hood. Hydro formed front frame members have heretofore been unable to provide a fender nose attachment surface due to the large bend radii required for manufacturing. The use of a hydro formed front frame structural member also limits the opportunities for placing a hood support bumper near the front corner of the hood. Such hood support bumpers are required to support the hood while closed and reduce hood over-slam travel upon closing the hood.
Stamped brackets have been used in some instances as attachment brackets. However, such stamped brackets are inherently weak as attachment brackets due to the shape and thickness limitations inherent in the stamping process. For example, a single stamping is unable to be formed in the shape of a “T” with a depending support leg and a horizontal portion extending from the front frame structural member to the front fender. Obtaining such a bracket configuration would instead require a multi-piece assembly, significantly increasing the cost and tooling requirements for assembly and joining operations. The dimensional variability of the bracket also tends to increase and adversely affect the fit of the hood relative the fender. Hence, solutions for improving the mounting of front body panels, such as front fenders, would be advantageous.
The present disclosure addresses the shortcomings of the aforementioned mounting techniques for mounting front body panels to hydro formed metal front structural frame members through the use of a single piece extruded fender attachment bracket that attaches to the motor vehicle hydro formed metal front structural frame member and provides a mounting surface for a hood bumper.